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<h1>
    NEU!
</h1>

<div class="quote">
    "Hyaaaaaargh! Ooooorgh! Yaaaaaie! Blabber blabber blabber hoooooooo!"<br />

    <img alt="Dinger and Rother" src="images/neu.png" />
</div>

<div class="members">
    Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother<br />

    <a href="http://www.southparkstudios.com/games/create.html">South Park Create-A-Character</a>
</div>

<p class="albumList">
  <a href="#neu">NEU!</a><br />
  <a href="#neu2">NEU! 2</a><br />
  <a href="#neu75">NEU! 75</a><br />
</p>

<p>NEU! means "New!" in German, and it's pronounced "noy". For that, you could say this is a very anNEU!ing band! Ha ha! And why? Because they make too much NEU!se! Ha ha ha ha!</p>

<p>Alright, alright, serious now. These guys here might not have been one of the most popular acts of the "Krautrock" scene, but they definitely were: influential, innovative, original, unique, etc. Among the three albums they released during their 70's carreer, none of them can be considered a truly Earth-shattering effort, in the sense that it changed music forever. What <em>really</em> influenced artists wasn't one single album or one single track, but it was their ideas, their sound, their style of playing. It's true that those qualities are best represented on the band's debut, from 1972. But even that one was a bit... um, patchy, to be considered a true masterpiece. But it surely was a landmark, and the reason why it's the most important.</p>

<p>Now, the two members of the band were once part of Kraftwerk, joining by the time their debut was being made. And for some time, they were even the only band members among with Florian Schneider. But eventually, they left, and Ralf H&uuml;tter rejoined Schneider to keep on making traffic cone albums with Conny Plank. And NEU! formed, and also teamed up with Conny to make an album that was miles and miles ahead than whatever Kraftwerk were making by that time. Like Kraftwerk, they were also "experimental". But while Ralf und Florian were experimenting with sound and NEU!se, NEU! were experimenting with <em>music</em>. And by that stage, their music could be roughly divided in two polar opposites: minimalistic, proto-ambient drones of floating, mysterious sounds; and fast, punchy "rock" tracks with a single drum rhythm laid for ten minutes or so, while various guitar sounds gave the special <em>it</em> to the brew. But it was definitely the latter category that became NEU!'s eternal trademark. Dinger's drum rhythm was an unusual one: he played the kick drum like it was the hi-hat and played the hi-hat like it was the kick drum, while the snare would just go "splat! Splat! Splat! the way it was supposed to go. It was a straight 4/4 rhythm all the way through, but it <em>never</em> lost its sense of motion. It could be fast or slow, but the real atmosphere would be given by Rother's guitar sounds and effects. Conny Plank's production style gave the band freedom to try everything they wanted to. So, when listening to one of their albums, be ready to expect <em>anything</em>. But most of the time, you'll be listening to good stuff.</p>

<p><a href="mailto:sirmustapha@gmail.com">Mail your ideas</a>!</p>

<hr />

<h2 id="neu">NEU! (1972)</h2>
<p class="medium">
  Best song: <big>Hallogallo</big>
</p>
<div class="medium">
  Track list:
</div>
<ol class="trackList">
  <li><span class="good">Hallogallo ++</span></li>
  <li>Sonderangebot</li>
  <li>Weissensee <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>Im Gl&uuml;ck</li>
  <li><span class="good">Negativland ++</span></li>
  <li>Lieber Honig</li>
</ol>

<p>The band kicked off with a real blast. This record may not be fantastically
outstanding, but it sure defined the band's style and intentions <em>for
good</em>. They were up to no shit here. And what's the best way to kick off
their debut album than a speedy, rhythmic track like 'Hallogallo'? If you listen
to that song, you pretty much listened the <em>essence</em> of NEU!. It's ten
minutes long, but it could have been twenty minutes long, and it would still
have been great. Running time is not an issue here, see: the song never changes.
It's the same 4/4 rhythm I described above, the same "tschwak tschwakatschwaka
tschwak tschwakatschwak tschwak tschwak" guitar, and the same gorgeous backwards
guitars fading in and dropping out of sight on and on and on. It's stuff like
this that makes people describe their sound as "motorik" (though the band
actually avoids that description). See, it's highway music two years before
'Autobahn' was recorded! Of course, the tracks just can't be compared as if they
were the same thing: 'Autobahn' was an artistic, music representation of a
roadtrip, with gorgeous, scenic structures and beautiful melodies. 'Hallogallo'
is all about the rhythm and the exploration of sounds over it. The tracks means
so much more than that, you know! The band is taking Rock music and stripping it
as bare as possible, and going <em>deep</em> into that basic, cold sound to
produce the most beautiful sounds they could. It's all in the same E-major key,
and there are very few 'different' parts alternating, but the absolute beauty
of the sounds they extract makes the length and repetitiveness an <em>asset</em>
instead of a problem. It's not just an important musical statement, it's also
a gorgeous masterpiece.</p>

<p>After 'Hallogallo' ends, you shouldn't expect to hear an entire album of
things like that. NEU! weren't there just to churn out "motorik" tracks to
please fans (did they even have any?). They were there to be Krautrock, so you
have tracks like 'Sonderangebot' and 'Im Gl&uuml;ck', too. They easily fall in
the "opposite" category of NEU!'s music, and they are just that: minimalistic,
proto-ambient drones. The former relies on scary, weird cymbal-like noises
(ending with an unexpected, scary BLAST of sound), and the latter has more
pleasant sounds over a "water" effect. You know, they aren't bad tracks by any
means, but I really can't tell why this stuff should be <em>better</em> than
what Kraftwerk were doing at this point. You may be bored out of your skull by
them, or you might be definitely hypnotised. Me? Er, I dunno. I don't dislike
this, but it's that kind of stuff that doesn't really blow me away. Influential?
Yeah, perhaps it was. And I didn't even mention the one track that many fans
agree is the "low-point" of NEU!'s entire carreer: 'Lieber Honig', where a slow,
pleasant guitar "ballad" is "spiced" by Dinger's vocalisations. Indeed, even
fans despise the track, but you gotta admit it raises some interesting
questions: was Dinger actually trying to SING, or he was screwing up on purpose?
Was he doing a a heartfelt performance, or is it just a big joke? Is there even
an answer to these questions, or is the lack of answers the POINT of the track?
Interesting, I'd say. The song gets grating to listen to, but I respect its
presence here.</p>

<p>The remaining two tracks all have the 4/4 rhythm to them, but they're very
drastic variations on the "motorik" form. 'Weissensee' is <em>slow</em> and
peaceful, repetitive (of course), but it's quite beautiful. On the other hand,
'Negativland' is plainly gruesome and EVIL... in a good way, of course! The
guitar noises this time around are plainly ugly and horrible, while the drums
and the bass bash out a strangely "funky" rhythm. And then, comes up the
Kraftwerkesque stop-and-go tricks, the sudden changes of tempo, while the guitar
keeps on growling and growling, until the song explodes into something
<em>really</em> evil and fast near the end. Great track. And yes, this was the
inspiration of the name of the band Negativland. See what I mean when I say NEU!
weren't popular, but they were very influential?</p>

<p>The truth is that, if you are a musician and you listen to this record, you
<em>will</em> be influenced by it. I guess one factor is the "it doesn't work in
theory, but it works wonders in practice" aspect of their "motorik" thing. Try
playing your kick drum like Dinger does and see if it sounds that awesome! It
probably won't, but you'll have <em>tried</em>, and you may have had a great
idea because of it. In the end, 'Hallogallo' <em>is</em> a brilliant, fantastic
masterpiece that you <em>need</em> to have. The rest of the album is... patchy,
yes. But it was an important, influential landmark, which stops me from giving
it a, say, 10. So I give it a 12. Also, notice that the version of the album I
have is the Astralwerks reissue. I hear that the original LP and the bootleg
"reissue" by Germanofon (the same "company" that "reissued" Kraftwerk's first
three albums) have a slightly different running order ('Sonderangebot' seems to
close side A, instead of 'Weissensee'), but I don't know. Either way, this album
gets a 12 from me. Very good stuff.</p>

<p class="ratingHeader">
  Rating:
</p>

<p class="rating">
  <big>Fun factor:  <strong>12/15</strong></big> - Ok, there are moments of extraordinary fun mixed with moments of "hmm... interesting."<br />
  <big>Resonance:   <strong>11/15</strong></big> - Only 'Hallogallo' really stimulates my nerves. The rest only entertains me, mostly.<br />
  <big>Originality: <strong>14/15</strong></big> - The proto-ambient drones weren't anything terribly new, you know, though they <em>were</em> proto-ambient.<br />
  <big>Richness:    <strong>12/15</strong></big> - A tough rating. The "richness" of the music is highly subjective and relative here.<br />
  <big>Solidness:   <strong>10/15</strong></big> - It's patchy, ya know.
</p>

<p class="ratingFinale">
  Total: <img src="images/12.png" alt="12" />
</p>

<p>Any comments? <a href="mailto:sirmustapha@gmail.com">Mail my beautiful GMail account</a>!</p>

<hr />

<h2 id="neu2">NEU! 2 (1973)</h2>
<p class="medium">
  Best song: <big>F&uuml;r Immer</big>
</p>
<div class="medium">
  Track list:
</div>
<ol class="trackList">
  <li><span class="good">F&uuml;r Immer ++</span></li>
  <li>Spitzenqualit&auml;t</li>
  <li>Gedenkminute</li>
  <li>Lila Engel <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>Neuschnee 78</li>
  <li><span class="good">Super 16 ++</span></li>
  <li>Neuschnee <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>Casetto</li>
  <li>Super 78</li>
  <li>Hallo Excentrico!</li>
  <li>Super <span class="good">+</span></li>
</ol>

<p>Now, this album has an interesting history. You can read it in pretty much
other site that talks about NEU!, but you'll read it here, anyway. The band
simply ran out of money after they recorded the first side of the record. And
since the company refused to give them an advance (since the debut LP didn't
sell well), they were forced to improvise a second side of music, taking their
'Neuschnee' / 'Super' single as their material. So, while you have one side of
music more-or-less in the vein of the debut, you have a side of...
<em>remixes</em>. Yes, back when remixes didn't exist, NEU! were doing this.
It's said that many great ideas come by pure accident. And while it's debatable
if remixes are a "great" idea, NEU! pretty much created it by accident, you
know.</p>

<p>The two actual songs, 'Neuschnee' and 'Super', are both based on the classic
4/4 beat, but with very different approaches. 'Neuschnee' is beautiful and
peaceful, with a wonderful little guitar melody and strategic "breaks" coming
up. Maybe it's a little bit <em>too</em> polished for a NEU! track, but it's
good. 'Super' is almost punkish, though! The guitar has a distinctive "buzzing"
sound, and Rother just screams and growls his way through the song. There's
even a punkish riff! And the other five tracks on side B are the, well, remixes
of those tracks. One trick here is to play the record at 78 RPM, which results
in 'Neuschnee 78' and 'Super 78'. They're both amusing to listen, for sure, but
not much more than that. However, when 'Super' is played at <em>16</em> RPM,
the result is quite impressive. It's so gruesome, horror-inducing and scary,
that Quentin Tarantino put it on the soundtrack for <em>Kill Bill</em>! Though
I have to say, I was <em>majorly</em> disappointed with the fact that the song
only plays for, like, two seconds in the movie! Someone should have reminded
that crazy Tarantella what a perfect choice that song would have been for
tense, scary scenes in slow motion, or even for bloody battles. The track
invokes visions of monsters, slaughter and pain all the time... but in a
<em>goofy</em> way! When you remember this is <em>just</em> a record being
played very slowly, you won't know whether to laugh or be <em>more</em> freaked
out!</p>

<p>Among the other two remixes, 'Casetto' is memorable. It's the tape (it
definitely isn't 'Neuschnee', but it doesn't sound like 'Super' to me... might
be 'F&uuml;r Immer') being played on a cassette player with weak batteries. The
effect is very funny, with most of the song devoured by distortion and random
drop-outs. 'Hallo Excentrico!' is... well, eh, I have no idea how they did it.
All I know is that 'Neuschnee' oscillates in speed constantly on one speaker,
and in the other... odd things happen. Suddenly, another part of the song is
played while someone speaks something. And then, the song is fast-forwarded
randomly, and a reverb effect is added. It goes on for too long, to me. It's
also pretty gruesome and scary, but not in a goofy way. I don't skip it when
I'm listening to the album, but I wouldn't want to play it and "enjoy" it, you
know.</p>

<p>And side A? Well, there's excellent music in there. For one, the opening
piece is kind of a "sequel" to 'Hallogallo', though it isn't a copy. 'F&uuml;r
Immer' takes the 4/4 beat and adds some <em>beautiful</em> sounds to it. The
crucial difference between this one and 'Hallogallo' is that this one adds
<em>several</em> other instruments to the brew (and, in fact, those extra
instruments were part of the reason why the band ran out of money). So, this
song has extra dimensions and different "parts", where the sound changes
considerably, and it works as a great contrast to the minimalism of
'Hallogallo'. A <em>very</em> worthwhile sequel. Great track.
'Spitzenqualit&auml;t' takes the 4/4 drums and gives it a HUGE reverb and odd
sounds. But then, the rhythm starts to slow down, slow down, <em>slow
down</em>... it makes me wonder whether the tape is being slowed down
mechanically, or if Dinger is actually slowing down his playing with such
amazing precision. Wow. 'Gedenkminute' does the droning thing (but for only two
minutes) with some bell-like sounds, even. And 'Lila Engel'? Well, the fast 4/4
drums are back, and then it's invaded by gruesome guitar chords and vocal
ramblings and rants by Dinger... This is almost punk! Wheee! It's even more
punkish than 'Super', on side B. Very hypnotic thing. The ugly vocalisations
only <em>help</em> matters here, and the lack of a bass guitar gives it a very
disturbing "bottomless" sound.</p>

<p>You know, this <em>is</em> a stepdown from the debut. Even though side A
manages to combine the different sides of the band in a <em>very</em>
interesting brew... there are a few gaps. It's no longer as mindblowing as it
was before. And the B side, while it couldn't have been better, I can't condemn
the band for that, by any means. And while the two songs are very good, only a
few of the "remixes" have actual replay value. 'Super 16' definitely stands
out, but... Eh, whatever. If you're a fan, you'll need the album anyway.</p>

<p class="ratingHeader">
  Rating:
</p>

<p class="rating">
  <big>Fun factor:  <strong>12/10</strong></big> - There's quite a bunch of greatness here.<br />
  <big>Resonance:   <strong>10/10</strong></big> - Hmm, nah. Some moments are oddly resonant ('Super 16'), but most of them are only fun.<br />
  <big>Originality: <strong>12/10</strong></big> - The <em>musical</em> bit aren't much more original than the debut, and the remixes... well, they were a very original accident.<br />
  <big>Richness:    <strong>11/10</strong></big> - Yeah, yeah.<br />
  <big>Solidness:   <strong>10/10</strong></big> - It's <em>also</em> quite patchy.
</p>

<p class="ratingFinale">
  Total: <img src="images/11.png" alt="11" />
</p>

<p><a href="mailto:sirmustapha@gmail.com">Send your comments</a>!</p>

<hr />

<h2 id="neu75" class="best">NEU! 75 (1975)</h2>
<p class="medium">
  Best song: <big>Isi</big>
</p>
<div class="medium">
  Track list:
</div>
<ol class="trackList">
  <li><span class="good">Isi ++</span></li>
  <li>Seeland <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">Leb' Wohl ++</span></li>
  <li><span class="good">Hero ++</span></li>
  <li>E-Musik <span class="good">+</span></li>
  <li>After Eight <span class="good">+</span></li>
</ol>

<p>After two years, the band got back together... to find out they had quite
different views on music. As a result, instead of trying to combine the
"ambient" and the "punkish" aspects of their music like they did on side A of
<strong>NEU! 2</strong>, they <em>pull them apart</em> even more. So, in a very
"logical" move, each side of the LP is devoted to each "side" of their music,
handled by a different band member (Dinger on the rocking side, Rother on the
tranquil side). But instead of starting off fast and ending slow, like Brian
Eno would do in the near future, they do the opposite, which makes it very
cool! And also means that the album kicks off with the JAW-DROPPINGLY,
TEAR-JERKINGLY SPECTACULARLY GORGEOUS 'Isi', and I'm not kidding here. There
was 'Hallogallo'; there was 'F&uuml;r Immer'; there were great and beautiful
tracks in their repertoire; but 'Isi' wins the "favourite NEU! track" trophy by
a wide margin. It isn't a "rocking" track, but it isn't "ambient" either: it
kicks off with the classic, fast 4/4 beat, in fact. But instead of backwards
guitars and one-chord riffs, you have gorgeous pianos, fantastic melodies and
little riffs, a "rippling" synth playing along... Phew. However "Motorik" their
previous tracks were, THIS is the definitive highway NEU! track. If they tried
to extend this 6-minute masterpiece into a sidelong piece, it would easily beat
'Autobahn' in the "gorgeousness" aspect.</p>

<p>Sorry for raving so wildly, but I <em>really</em> love this song. I was even
surprised that the band was able to pull off a song like that, but... well, I
guess it's Rother's more "peaceful" musicmaking. After 'Isi', the music
gradually slows down... You can even see a logical progression in these tracks.
If 'Isi' travels along the road, 'Seeland' walks calmly, led by a metronome and
a drum beat, contemplating the gorgeous scenery. And, oh, what a BEAUTIFUL
melody that is! It's repeated until the six minutes are over, but I don't mind
at all. It's <em>such</em> a beautiful track, and it ends with another "water"
(or is it rain?) effect... leading into 'Leb' Wohl', a track you'll either love
or hate. I don't need to <em>tell</em> you what I think, do I? This time, only
the lazy metronome marks the rhythm, and TWO PIANO CHORDS make the "base" for
the track. There's some quiet organ, too, and there are vocalisations, too. But
instead of making terrible noises like in 'Lieber Honig', Dinger just mutters
some half-asleep words about love and "bye bye", and it contributes <em>a
lot</em> to the sleepy atmosphere of the song. It's like lying on a boat at
night, in the middle of the ocean, watching the stars. That is, without
worrying about going back home, or anything. Oh, and it lasts for nine minutes,
too.</p>

<p>And then, comes side B. Like side A, it has three tracks, one of them very
long. But unlike on side A, here, Dinger is playing along with TWO other
drummers! And the songs are all great, too! 'Hero' is a <em>great</em>
"motorik" punkish song, much better than anything on the previous record! It
rocks <em>awesomely</em>, and the vocals are exciting and great. You'll hardly
understand the words, but who cares? 'After Eight' is a bit more... plain, but
it's also good. But among these three tracks, 'Hero' easily takes the cake. But
wait! Right in the middle of the "punkish" stuff, there's 'E-Musik'! And...
this is freakin' <em>Kraftwerk</em>! Okay, okay, not <em>Kraftwerk</em>, but it
does sound kinda like it. The drum rhythm is oddly "boxed", phased and encoded
and stuff. And on the whole, the whole song is an <em>awesome</em> "electronic"
jam over that constant rhythm. It's kind of what 'Tanzmuzik' on <strong>Ralf
Und Florian</strong> WANTED to be. Alright, sorry for the Kraftwerk
comparisons. By 1975, Kraftwerk were doing completely different things already,
but this NEU! track is really a revelation.</p>

<p>Overall, while I do like when bands try to "combine" different styles of
music into something unique, the drastic division here works wonders. Each
musician is given more space to focus on <em>his</em> kind of music, and so,
the album feels like one unit made of two opposite things. Like a magnet. Or
like a Brian Eno album, yeah, though Eno doesn't really "separate" his music:
he showcases it under different lights. Anyway, <strong>NEU! 75</strong> is a
definitely wonderful thing. Side B is fantastically <em>moving</em> (in the
sense that is MOVES, that is, not that it moves ME) and energetic, and side A
is an amazingly awesome side for... well, sleeping. Or travelling. Whatever.
This MUST be part of your collection.</p>

<p class="ratingHeader">
  Rating:
</p>

<p class="rating">
  <big>Fun factor:  <strong>15/15</strong></big> - Goodness, <em>EVERYTHING</em> here works..<br />
  <big>Resonance:   <strong>15/15</strong></big> - I'm <em>constantly</em> stimulated by the music here.<br />
  <big>Originality: <strong>14/15</strong></big> - The band is just doing what they did before, but putting <em>A LOT</em> of creativity into it!<br />
  <big>Richness:    <strong>15/15</strong></big> - No doubt about it, buddy.<br />
  <big>Solidness:   <strong>15/15</strong></big> - Yes! Yes! Two perfect, solid albums joined into one unbreakable unit. Can <em>you</em> do that with such perfection?
</p>

<p class="ratingFinale">
  Total: <img src="images/15.png" alt="15" />
</p>

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